She crossed the border as a pilgrim and found comfort in another man. Now, in a viral audio clip, she has made an appeal to be brought home.
That’s the saga of Sarabjeet Kaur, an Indian woman who travelled to Pakistan. In an audio clip that has gone viral, she claimed she crossed the border for a Sikh pilgrimage in November last year.
Although still married, she reportedly converted to Islam to wed a Pakistani man.
The veracity of the clip in which she is speaking to her former husband in India couldn’t be ascertained.
In the clip, she pleads with him to bring her back home. She claims she is being tortured in Pakistan.
The 48-year-old Sikh woman is a resident of Amanipur village in Punjab’s Kapurthala district. She was among around 2,000 Sikh pilgrims who entered Pakistan via the Wagah border in November last year. They had travelled to attend celebrations marking the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.
The pilgrims returned after a few days, but Kaur did not.
A senior police officer in Lahore later said that Kaur married Nasir Hussain of Sheikhupura district, about 50 kilometres from Lahore. The marriage took place a day after she arrived in Pakistan on November 4.
In the audio clip, Kaur says her condition in Pakistan is “not good”. She alleges harassment by the man she married and his family. She says she wants to return to India. She asks for a promise that she will not be harmed if she comes back.
“I am being harassed here. I cannot live without my children. I used to give millions of rupees to people; I am a Sardarni, yet I am left pleading for money,” the woman is heard saying.
The authenticity of the clip has not been independently verified.
Kaur also alleges she did not go to Pakistan as a spy. She says she went to get her obscene photos deleted. According to her, Nasir Hussain had those photos in his possession.
After their marriage, Kaur and Hussain filed a petition in the Lahore High Court. They complained that police had conducted an illegal raid at their house in Farooqabad, Sheikhupura. They also alleged pressure to end their marriage.
Lahore High Court Justice Farooq Haider ordered the police to stop harassing the couple.
Despite the order, Kaur was arrested and sent to a government-run shelter home in Lahore, a Punjab government official reportedly said.
Instead of complying with the court’s order, the Punjab police detained the couple and sent Kaur to Darul Aman, a government-run shelter home in Lahore, claimed media reports.
Authorities intend to deport her, while her husband remains in police custody and is facing a case. Reports mentioned that an earlier attempt to deport Kaur failed due to the closure of the Wagah–Attari border.
Earlier, in a video clip, Kaur said she had approached the Indian embassy in Islamabad to extend her visa. She also said she applied for Pakistani nationality.
“I am a divorcee and wanted to marry Hussain; therefore, I came here for the purpose,” she was quoted as saying. Kaur was given the Muslim name Noor before the nikah ceremony. “I happily married Hussain,” she added.
Former Punjab Assembly member Mahinder Pal Singh had filed a petition in the Lahore High Court. He alleged that Kaur was likely an “Indian spy”.
He reportedly said, “Staying in Pakistan after the expiry of her visa is an illegal act as the matter is linked to Pakistan’s national security.”
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